Albon points the finger at Hamilton following Spielberg collision
Monday, 6 July 2020
The Thai driver aired his frustrations post-race.
Alex Albon was not impressed with Lewis Hamilton after a collision cost the Red Bull driver what he felt was a chance to win the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Albon looked set to pass Hamilton on the outside at turn four and move into second place with 11 laps remaining but spun into the gravel after the two made contact.
Hamilton went on to cross the line second at the Red Bull Ring behind Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, though a five-second time penalty for the shunt resulted in him being demoted to fourth.
Albon cut a disconsolate figure after the opening race of the Formula 1® season and felt a sense of deja vu, having missed out on a first podium finish following a collision with Hamilton in Brazil last year.
Albon was in no doubt as to who was at fault this time around in Spielberg, where Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris were second and third respectively.
History repeats itself for Albon and Hamilton #AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/3FR1oxG2cd
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 5, 2020
"I'm a bit fresh right now, so I'd better be careful what I say. But it is what it is, I really felt we could have won that race," Albon told Sky Sports.
"Of course, I think Mercedes had the outright pace today, but the guys did a great job with strategy and honestly when I did the pit stop I felt 'where are we' on track, I didn't really know what was going on.
"As soon as it all played out it looked really strong for us and I knew they were on the hard tyres and the first five laps was when I was going to do the overtakes. I was confident, the car was feeling good at that stage of the race.
"I feel like this one, I wouldn't say it hurts more, but I felt like Brazil was more like 50-50, this one I felt like I did the move already and I was kind of already focused on Bottas in front. It was so late for contact.
"There is always a risk of overtaking on the outside, but I gave as much space as I really could, I knew as long as I could give as much space as I could give him, it's up to him if he wants to crash or not."
Asked if he would speak to Hamilton about the incident, he replied: "I'll cool off and I'll come back."
Albon ended up retiring on lap 69 of 71, leaving Red Bull without any points after Max Verstappen was forced to stop racing early on.
